reflections on love

Long before I had my first conscious thought of God, he held me close to his heart, he knew me and loved me.

And this is true of you, too.

He loves us not because of what we do or don’t do, but simply because we are his creation—and he is still at work, perfecting us in love.

Nor is her love conditioned by correct thinking. God is a mystery; our finite mind can never fully comprehend her. It is indeed a mystery that we can love her with all our mind but never know all there is to know about her.

To know God is to love God and be loved by God. All we have to do is open our heart to this, though God never stops loving us, even when we resist it.

To open your heart to God’s love is to be free. In love, there is no more fear. In love, we are not ashamed. In love, we find courage and hope.

God’s love gives us a second chance when we stumble and fall. God’s love forgives when we do wrong. God’s love is patient with us.

God’s love is not harsh, but tender. Though God’s love calls us to a higher standard, God is not demanding like a taskmaster. In love, we are able to see others and ourselves through eyes that dignify. It is how God sees us. God’s love is both strong and gentle.

God is devoted to his creation. We are always under his watchful care, even when we suffer. To show his care for us in suffering, the Father sent his Son to suffer with us. Though we suffer, we are not alone; God suffers with us. In love, God weeps when we weep.

Because of love, God in Christ became acquainted with hunger and loneliness, betrayal and pain, darkness and death. Because of love, death does not have the last word. In God’s love, life prevails. The end is a beginning. Love is eternal.

If God’s love is eternal, it is also historical (for history is eternity’s pregnancy). God is even now birthing love. God’s love breaks into history—so, God’s love can break into your story, too. We are each of us every day on the brink of an outbreak of love. All we have to do is open ourselves to it, to reach out for it with the simplest prayer, the smallest bit of faith: “I need you, Lord. I want to love you, to know you, to be loved by you and to share your love with others.”

God’s love is your rebirth, a new beginning, each and every day. God’s love renews all things. This is what our world needs, what we are all crying out for. May we be renewed in love.  

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reflections on love

by troy cady

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*Photo by Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash. Creative Commons License.